Chocolate Kisses
by VanityWantsYou
Summary: After meeting Uzumaki Naruto while taking a piss in a local restroom, Sasuke's life had started turning into dramafilled yaoi fanfiction. Christmas fic. NaruSasu. SasuNaru.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Yay! A Christmas oneshot! Christmas if my favorite time of the year, even though the Christmas-like feel is slowly leaving me every year :sigh: stupid growing up. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! Even though it's super long.**

**Dedicated to all of you because you all ROCK!**

**A new chap of JLH and KWSC will be out soon! I haven't forgotten about them :sweatdrop:**

Uzumaki Naruto slouched in his seat while reading over his final draft for a college essay, his sunflower-colored hair flung about everywhere from the wind outside. He'd yet to fix it and didn't really feel the need to, not caring what the foreign people around him thought of his appearence, since it wasn't like he was every going to see the occupants of the cafe again. Heaving an exasperated breath, he scratched below his jaw and saved the essay, taking the few annoying steps in e-mailing the document to himself so he could print it out in the college campus' library.

Glancing down at his watch, which he had changed to Tokyo time when on the plane to Japan three days ago, he found that he still had about an hour left before class started, and he really didn't want to walk all the way back to his apartment just to leave again. So letting out another sigh, he let his eyes scan over the citizen within the spacious cafe.

A lot of businessmen were present, a cellphone next to one ear, a finger in the other. There were also some high school students sitting at the oval table in the far back, by the manga rack. They were in their winter uniforms, copying each others' answers for a review. That's what he assumed it was, anyway, since his Japanese was pretty decent, considering he'd only studied the language for a year.

Turning his head to the side, he saw an elderly man flipping through a war novel, his wooden cane propped up beside the table. Next to him sat an old woman who was enjoying a cup of tea and a small plate of sashimi. Looking back over at the high school students, since they were honestly the most interesting people in the place, Naruto leaned forward and propped his chin up with his left palm.

_I miss high school, _he muttered inwardly, remembering all of the good times he had in the good ol' US of A. He'd lived in Brooklyn, New York with his younger sister and godfather, and had gone to a fairly poor school in the neighborhood. It wasn't the greatest, but Naruto had absolutely loved that place. It taught him a lot of great things and helped him succeed in getting scholarships and making his dream of going to a good college come true. Once he'd graduated, he flew to Japan to go to Tokyo University, another one of his dreams to live in a foreign country coming true.

He smiled bitterly.

He'd always wanted to live in Japan, but he was a bit annoyed with the winter season. It was his first experience of winter in the Land of the Rising Sun and it just had to be too cold. He expected maybe 30 degrees at the least, but no, at the moment, it was 11 degrees.

"Excuse me," one of the workers at the cafe smiled to him, hugging a tray to her chest cutely. She reminded Naruto exactly of a maid in an anime, her dyed hair making her look almost animated as she stood there. "Would you like anything? I noticed you sitting here and that no one had served you yet."

Naruto grinned, finding that the new presence of the beautiful female lifted his mood. He nodded and decided to just order something Western, having a sudden craving for a blueberry muffin. "I'll have a blueberry muffin and some passion fruit Boba tea."

The woman nodded and excused herself, hurrying off to the kitchen to fulfill his order. As she left, a figure walked by Naruto's table while he focused on the retreating back of the worker, the strong scent of chocolate filling his nose. He blinked and his stomach growled loudly at the thought of sinfully sweet hershey kisses or Gettysburg fudge. Turning in his chair, he only saw the back of the person's leg as they turned a corner.

_Hm, what a unique smell for a person._

Scooting back in his chair, he reached his arms up and stretched, scrunching his nose up as the unpleasant sound of a baby crying filled the cafe. A mother with her baby in her arms had entered through the doors, the small bells atop the door jingling to alert the workers. While the employees smiled to her in welcome, the high school students looked quite annoyed and quickly got up form their large table, gathering up their school books and bags.

As they rushed by Naruto's table, one of the girls with long black hair and red glasses leaned into the bathroom hall.

"We're heading to school, so we'll see you there, Sasuke-kun!" she crooned and turned on her heel, heading back to her friends while pulling out a neon pink cellphone with a panda keychain hanging from it. She didn't seem fazed with the fact that she'd probably embarrassed her friend Sasuke.

The blond snickered, but his attention was drawn away by the returning waitress, who placed Naruto's order down on the table with a cute bow. She blushed lightly and went back to the front counter, where she took the orders for customers who were on the go. The college student knew he was a decent-looking guy... but maybe he was more attractive in Japan?

He grinned impishly. _Maybe to all of these black-haired, black-eyed people, I'm like a diamond in a mound of dirt clots? _his analogies weren't any good, but you got the picture, right? Indeed, with his tan skin, toned body, bright blue eyes, handsome smile, and blond hair, he was undoubtedly going to be eye candy for the Japanese girls and boys.

Happily chewing on his muffin while thinking of all the possible girlfriends or boyfriends he could have, he imaged them in his head. He'd want them to be sweet and charming, to have a cute sense of humor, an adorable smile, and a slammin' body. Laughing to himself, he finished his breakfast in eight large bites and got up, packing his laptop away so he could head off to campus a little early. He grabbed his Boba tea and was about to leave, but decided to stop in the bathroom first.

Walking into the men's room, he raised a brow at the urinals against the wall, noticing the definite lack of stalls. If he'd had to take a crap, what good would just urinals be? Shrugging, he went to one of them and shifted his school bag, pulling down the zipper in the front of his pants. There were footsteps coming up behind him from the other half of the bathroom where the sinks were, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

Sighing in relief as he emptied his bladder, he glanced at his watch again and realized it'd only been thirteen minutes since he'd checked it the first time. Before he could growl at the watch for being stupid, a familiar aroma assaulted his nose and his eyebrows shot up beneath his messy bangs.

Glancing to the side, he saw one of the male high school student standing there with the side of his face hidden behind a curtain of black bangs. He didn't have on his uniform shirt like the others and Naruto realized that he must've spilled something on it, since that would explain his dark blue turtle neck and why he'd been in the restroom for so long.

"You smell really good," the blond blurted suddenly, causing the shorter boy to crane his neck to the side and send him a heated glare. His pitch black eyes heightened the sense of loathing in the look, but Naruto wasn't fazed. He just stared right back and tossed the boy known as Sasuke a lopsided grin. "Like chocolate."

"Hn."

"Do you have chocolate scented shampoo? Bodywash? Maybe it's a lotion, your skin does look pretty soft--"

"Can you please not talk to me while I'm trying to take a piss?" Sasuke snapped, clearly angry. He didn't look livid, though, so Naruto took that as a good sign and heaved his shoulders upward, shrugging.

"Sure."

They finished their business in silence and Naruto zipped his jeans up, taking a sip from his ice cold tea, sucking up a jelly bubble through the straw and chewing on it thoughtfully. He made his way to the sinks and washed his hands, looking over at Sasuke when he went to the one three sinks down from him.

"So, how come you smell like chocolate?"

Sasuke snapped his head up and scowled at the bothersome American.

"What? It's not like I'm asking you to tell me why you smell like cat piss," he chided. "It's chocolate. Telling you that you smell like a delicious treat is a compliment."

The raven only snorted again and dried his hands with the paper towels beside him, crumbling them up and tossing them in the trash can by the door as he made his way out. He didn't spare a single glance back at the college student as he left, the door swinging soundlessly behind him.

Naruto began drying his hands and took another sip of his tea, wondering why the guy had been so unfriendly. Sure, he'd asked him a strange question while they both had their man parts whipped out and were taking a piss, but that didn't mean Sasuke had to go and be a jerk. Of course, if he were in the student's position, then he'd probably think the other was some freak trying to hit on him, or attempt to molest him in the bathroom...

"Heh, he's probably underage, too," Naruto snickered to himself. "He was so small."

----------

The wind had picked up considerably during Naruto's walk to Tokyo University, snowflakes finally deciding to fall from the sky for the first time he'd been in the Asian country. The fluttering, white crystals swirled around in the air, causing a lot of the high schoolers across the street to squeal and laugh in excitement. They began running, some of the girls covering their heads with their cute bags, not wanting the snow to mess up their hair.

A man that brushed past him was cursing under his breath as he carried a fat suitcase by his side. His shoes kicked up slush on the ground from the freezing rain that'd poured over the city earlier that morning. When he disappeared around a street corner, Naruto squinted, spotting his college in the distance. It's tall black gates were reminiscent of a Rome cathedral, a bell tower the highest point of the school(1).

"Why couldn't it have started snowing after I got there?" he complained to himself, his breath coming out in foggy huffs. Pulling his laptop closer to his body, he crossed the road and ran down the sidewalk as quickly as he could so that he could get out of the snow and wind. He took a final sip of his Boba tea, then tossed it in a trash bin by a stop sign.

Slipping through a crowd of other college students who were on their way to class, too, Naruto stepped through the open gates and cut through the grass so he could reach his dorm building, where a red-haired male with startling teal eyes stood. One arm was tucked away in his thick brown coat, while the other was cradling a Psychology book.

Taken by surprise at the sudden appearance of the shorter male, Naruto blinked.

"Gaara?"

Gaara's eyes, which were outlined with black from his sleepless nights, slowly ran up and down the blond's frame, taking in the soaking clothes which had become wet from melted snow. Stepping forward, he pressed on Naruto's shoulder and gently spun his friend in the other direction, pushing him that way.

"You're going to be late," was the soft murmur that came from the expressionless student.

Naruto grinned stupidly. "I was going to get a soda from the machine in the lobby--"

Gaara pulled his hand out of his coat pocket and held the Coca Cola that he'd had stashed away. "Iruka-sensei is going to give you your semester project today, so make sure you get to class on time," his voice was almost monotone.

"You're such a great friend and I've known you for only three days," Naruto wiped away imaginary tears of joy. "I love you, man."

The red-head snorted and tucked both of his hands in his pockets, frowning as a strong gust of wind blew right in his face, draining the color from his cheeks almost immediately. He lifted an arm and tugged his black scarf further up so it would cover his mouth and nose.

"Sooo, doing anything fun in Psychology?" the blond asked.

Gaara remained silent for a moment. "We're studying REM sleep. Genma-sensei used me as the perfect example of insomnia."

Naruto laughed loudly and a snort slipped past his lips. "Of course. Oi, is your class doing anything for Christmas? Like the study of childrens' belief in Santa Claus, or something?" he joked.

"No."

"Hm, I hope we do something. I'd like to be a little busy on Christmas, since I don't really have anyone to spend it with this year," the cheerful student sighed and kicked a small rock that was by the fountain in the center of the court. He had made a lot of friends already, yeah, but they all had family to spend the holiday with. His entire family was back in America and he had thought about flying back for the week, but that'd be a waste of money. After all, he's just been in his home country a few days ago.

"You could spend the day with me and my family," Gaara proposed, voice still dull. "I doubt Temari would mind."

Naruto shook his head. "Nooo, I wouldn't do that. Don't worry about me, I'll find something to do. I might even go for a stroll in the park to look at Christmas lights."

"Whatever you want to do. Just know you're always welcome to stop by."

Grinning once again, Naruto punched Gaara in the shoulder. "Thanks, man."

"Hmm."

------------

_What did I do to deserve this? I put all of my change in charity boxes, I don't buy whores, and I'm a Christian! I shouldn't be forced to do this!_

Naruto whined mentally, his fingers tightly clutching a packet that had his semester project summary on the front. In bold letters, it read: **STUDENT TEACHER.** He had to be an aid to a high school teacher in any class of his choosing for two weeks, until the Christmas break. It wasn't so bad, but he really didn't want to deal with kids, despite most of them only being one or two years younger than him.

"Iruka-sensei," he voiced his disagreement. "Can't I do something else? Like, help with some charity organization?"

A dark-skinned, brown-haired man turned from the student he'd just finished speaking to and he smiled warmly at Naruto. He knew his American student would refute the idea, but since it was a Sociology class, he'd have to deal with human contact sooner or later.

"No, this is part of the class plan, Naruto, so it's mandatory. It won't be so bad, trust me," he reassured the blond. "You were in high school only last year, so it should be like a stroll down memory lane, yes?"

Naruto frowned and slid down in his chair. "Not really. For one, they won't be speaking English. And for two, I won't recognize anything, since I went to high school in New York. Remember?"

Iruka sighed patted his student on the shoulder. "It'll be fine. I know a lot of students and teacher from the school around here and they're all very kind. You'll have fun experiencing the everyday life of a Japanese student."

"I guess," Naruto let his head fall back and he scrunched up his nose. "And maybe I'll find some hot student to--"

Iruka pinched the skin of the freshman's arm, scowling. A vein was throbbing in his forehead and he leaned forward, gritting his teeth. "You're not allowed to touch a single student inappropriately or else you'll fail. Is that understood?"

Naruto flinched in pain and retracted his arm, rubbing the skin with the calloused fingers of his other hand. "Yeah, I got it..."

Iruka smiled once again. "Now, you'll be doing your project at Yoyogi High School(2). It's a twenty minute ride from here if you take the bullet train."

"Whatever," Naruto grumbled.

------------

Sasuke entered his classroom while chewing slowly on a McDonald's burger, fries bunched together in between the patty and the bun. A carbonated soda was in his other hand and his bag was at his side, all eyes turning to him as he entered. Even while eating junk food and his clothes not being particularly special that day, fawning females still flocked to him. They giggled and showered him with their praise and flattering comments, all of them trying to get as close to him as possible.

The dark-haired sophmore student frowned and stepped away from them, not too bothered since he knew his friend, Juugo, would intervene at any moment. All of the girls knew this too, because as soon as they heard the legs of a chair screech slowly across the tiled floor, they stiffened and headed off to their own seats as quickly as they had come.

Kakashi-sensei, their European History teacher, peaked up from behind his Icha Icha Tactics book, his silver hair sticking up in strange angles. He was an eccentric man who enjoyed the interactions between his students more than the ones between himself and his colleagues. When his long-time friend Maito Gai would speak to him, Kakashi would just ignore him. But when one of his pupils spoke to him, he made it a point to remember every single thing they said in order to have material for future blackmail.

Juugo was standing at his desk, sort of staring off into space, his eyes hidden beneath his long, dark red bangs. He sat back down as Sasuke approached, quiet as always. His huge frame was so odd next to the three smaller people in the four-member group, his large hands almost covering his homework sheet from the previous night.

Karin, the black-haired girl from the cafe days before, grinned devilishly to her fair-skinned classmate. She twirled a lock of her hair around with her mechanical pencil and pushed her red glasses further along the bridge of her small nose. Noticing how Sasuke seemed to be in a better mood than usual, she decided to take advantage of that.

"Sasuke-kun, wanna go out on a date?" she chirped.

"No."

"Hmph," she dropped her pencil back on her desk and crossed her arms. She never seriously meant anything by her flirting, since she considered the Uchiha her brother, but she kept it up since it seemed to bother Sasuke so much.

"What's on your mind, Queen?" Suigetsu asked with a toothy smirk.

Sasuke turned to him, his sweater hanging from his shoulders, his school unfirom covered in small flakes of snow that was now beginning to melt. His cheeks were dusted pink from the weather outside and his dark hair was tussled around from the wind. If Suigetsu were attracted to men, then he probably would've just leaned forward and kissed his younger friend.

Furrowing his brows, Sasuke lowered his bag to the ground and took out his notebook, yanking out his homework.

"Nothing," he lied. He opened his carbonated soda and took a sip, eyeing the little marble that was inside the glass with little to no curiousity. Karin watched him and then grunted in annoyance, thrumming her fingers against her forearms. It was so hard to read Sasuke's mind, but she attempted to, her dark eyes boring into his, which weren't even focused on her.

"Liar," she chimed in. "Tell us or else I'll post those pictures of you at camp last summer on my Myspace," she gave him a sly look and her smirk spread from ear to ear. She was the devil's incarnate, Sasuke knew that for sure.

"Che," he scowled and looked out the window at the snow. "My parents had to leave on a business trip last night and they won't be home for Christmas," he grumbled. "And Itachi's going to be spending time with Kisame for the holidays in Italy, so I'll basically be home alone."

Suigetsu blinked his golden eyes. "I can understand your Mom and Pops, but Itachi? You two have spent every Christmas together since you were born."

Sasuke shrugged, as if he didn't care, and continued to watch the falling snow. "He wanted to stay, but I told him I'd be fine. I wasn't going to be selfish and tell him to stay home with me when he could be spend time with his boyfriend."

Karin ruffled her friend's hair. "You're such a good brother, Sasuke-kun. Hey, how about you spend Christmas with us?" she suddenly grinned.

"No, I'll be fine," Sasuke muttered. "You guys have fun."

"Are you sure?" Juugo asked with his deep voice, generally concerned.

"I said I'll be fine," the raven growled. "Just drop the subject."

Suigetsu held his hands up in defense." Ok, ok, jeez. No need to blow a fuse, Queen. We're only trying to be good friends."

Sasuke sighed.

Finally closing his book and tucking it away in a drawer of his desk, Kakashi stood up and headed to the door once someone knocked cheerfully. Most of the class looked up from what they were doing to see who was entering. No one was absent, so it was either an administrator or a student from another class. But when someone visited randomly, then it usually meant something bad like the announcement of a boring assembly after school.

But instead of an old teacher walking in or one of the unknown, next-door students, it was a tall blond male in a thick eskimo-like coat that was bright orange in color. It was a loud color, but it seemed to fit the the brightness of the newcomer's hair and eyes.

"You must be Naruto," Kakashi's unmatching eyes crinked in pleasure. "Iruka told me you'd be coming today, so I've given you a seat among the students. No better way to study them than to be among them, yes?"

Naruto grinned. He wasn't too fond of the study, since there really was no point to it except to see how students interact with each other in different situations, but he was going to enjoy his time away from studying in his dorm. Plus, being around a bunch of teens close to his age would be ok, he supposed, since it was a lot better than being around a class of toddlers or elementary kids.

"Thanks," he saw the empty seat near the left side of the room and went to go sit there, surprised to see someone familiar right beside him. "Well, look who it is," his grin brightened even more. "I could smell you as soon as I started walking over here. You still haven't told me why you smell like chocolate yet, Teme."

Karin gawked at him, Suigetsu raised a thick brow, Juugo remained silent, and Sasuke stared in surprise and annoyance.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the Uchiha hissed venomously.

"Why, I'm sort of a student teacher for your class at the moment. I'm doing a sociology project," Naruto explained as if he were talking about the weather. "Hmm, I knew you were underage. How old are you? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

Suigetsu snorted. "Underage? What, did you have sex with this guy, Queen?"

Sasuke flushed in embarrassment and anger. "I did no such thing," he hissed. "And I'm 16, Dobe. Also, I'd appreciate it if you chose a different seat."

"Why? I'm not going to bother you. All I'm going to do is jot down some notes and listen to class discussions," Naruto absently toyed with a spike of his golden hair. "And this seat just happened to be the only empty one in the classroom, Sa-su-ke," he purred and smirked.

Snorting and turning away from the annoying "student teacher", Sasuke focused in on Kakashi-sensei's starting discussion of the day. As the teacher droned on in an interesting manner and his friends scribbled notes down around him, his mind drifted to a certain question that had been nagging at him for a little bit.

Exactly why did he hate the taller blond so much?

Sure, he was loud and had asked him a stupid question while they were standing next to each other in the urinals... but was that reason enough for him hate him? From someone else's perspective, it would be stupid to dislike Naruto for that reason alone. But Sasuke wasn't another person, he was himself, therefore he had the right to. Right? He didn't know, but he felt like he knew, you know?

Grimacing at the fact that he had confused himself, Sasuke turned his attention to said blond. Naruto was writing something down in a spiral notebook, and began drawing columns. His handwriting was messy, but the Uchiha could definitely see his name written in bold letters at the top of the paper. He scowled.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed through gritted teeth, trying not to be overheard by Kakashi-sensei. Ok, now he had a definite reason for hating the older male. He was a stalker.

Naruto glanced up at Sasuke from underneath his bangs, blue shining through clouds of yellow. "I'm starting my project."

"Why is my name on your paper?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed considerably.

Leaning back, Naruto grinned like an imp. "Because most of my studies are to be on one single person," he held up one finger. "And I happened to pick you."

"**Why?**"

"'Cause I like pissing you off."

Sasuke gripped his mechanical pencil tightly and seethed in silence, turning back toward the front of the room with his dark eyes burning holes in the white board.

-----------

"I think he's pretty sexy," Karin waved a french fry around. "Did you see his arms? All muscle. Same with his legs, too," she cooed. "I bet his has really nice abs to go along with everything else. Oh! And a big dick--"

"Jesus Christ, Karin, shut the fuck up!" Suigetsu complained loudly.

Karin glared at him and swung her hand toward his face, almost piercing his cheek with her chopstick. He'd moved out of the way just in time, though, his sharp teeth gritted at the close call. Matching her glare equally, Suigetsu sat up and crossed his arms. Across from them, next to Sasuke, Juugo stared out the window at the birds that were on an icy branch. Sasuke, himself, wasn't paying much attention to anyone. He was too busy scowling at his bento box.

Karin noticed this and swung her attention back to the handsome raven, her face brightening considerably. "Sasuke-kun, you haven't touched your food. Can I have your pickled radishes?"

The raven pushed the box forward and let her take the entire thing, not in the best of moods. He considered himself a decent kid with good grades, who gave to charity when he had the extra money, who always helped his autistic cousin when she visited, and who put peoples' needs before his if he felt they deserved it... so why did God have to send upon him a demon like Uzumaki Naruto?

Listening to the annoying laughter of Inuzuka Kiba sitting at the table behind him, Sasuke grimaced. He knew exactly why the American football player was laughing; it was because Naruto was sitting next to him and sharing the data he'd collected of the Uchiha the previous three hours of the day. The blond had jotted down everything, as if all of it was really that important.

Munching on the radishes, Karin smirked. "Is he getting on your nerves already?" she giggled. "Why don't you just get your huge base of fangirls to jump him or something? That Haruno girl could take down a zebra all by herself if it was for you."

Sasuke snorted in amusement at that statement. It was true.

"I don't want to bother with Sakura. If I do, she'll form the idea in her head that I find her attractive."

"Ooohh, I don't think she finds you so hot anymore, Queen," Suigetsu grinned darkly, leaning back in his seat. His eyes were focused on something behind Juugo. "Take a look behind you."

Turning, as if he were a paper clip being drawn to a magnet, his dark irises fell on the sight of the school's prettiest girl, Haruno Sakura, smiling and blushing as Naruto allowed her to sit next to him at the lunch table. Jaw becoming slack, Sasuke wondered if his feelings could really surpass absolute loathing? He didn't understand why he was so livid, because he hated Sakura, but there was something boiling in the pit of his stomach he couldn't explain.

"Woah, what's with the expression?" Suigetsu smirked.

"Shut the hell up," Sasuke snarled and turned back around. Surely he wasn't feeling jealous? Why would he be jealous of Naruto? He never liked the pink-haired bimbo anyway, since she was only a waste of air and space. He wasn't even interested in finding a girlfriend.

He glared down at the table as conversation errupted around him, the annoying blond's laughter rumbling through the room like an avalanche. And he stayed like that until the bell rang, instantly grabbing his books and shoving through the crowd of people as if his life depended on it. Karin called out to him, but he ignored her and made his way to class, confused as to why he was so angry.

-------------

Naruto peaked around the corner of the liquor store, watching his subject walk home. He had his spiral notebook out, along with a Lion King pen, and he quietly slipped out from behind the dirty wall, following along a few yards behind Sasuke. The raven had his hands tucked away in coat pockets, his school bag slung over his shoulder. The way he walked was very casual and laid back, but Naruto knew for a fact he was wearing a scowl on his face.

The both of them had been walking for quite some time and Naruto was wondering if the Uchiha knew he was following him and was dragging him around. Grinning at the thought, Naruto sped up a bit, but came to a screeching halt when Sasuke finally stopped in front of a Victorian type of home. There were vines twisting up the walls and balcony, the windows clean and shimmering under the few rays of the sun that was hidden behind thick snow clouds.

Watching him turn in, through the open, black iron gates, Naruto followed and stopped right next to the gate, leaning to the side to peak into the yard. An older man and woman were standing by the steps to the front porch, a single suitcase by each of their sides. The man had dark brown hair, tanned skin, and a seemingly permanent frown on his aged face. The woman, a pale, dark-haired beauty was already stepping to Sasuke, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him tightly against her.

"Sasuke, please be good for your brother until he has to leave for Korea," her smile was gorgeous. "And I'm sorry that your father and I can't stay here with you for Christmas," she told him sadly and pulled away, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "I really wish we could, you know that, right?"

Sasuke nodded and smiled kindly and warmly, something Naruto had yet to see yet.

"I know, Okasan," he muttered.

"Come, Mikoto, the cab will be coming soon," Sasuke's father, Fugaku, said gruffly and nodded in good-bye to his son before heading off in Naruto's direction.

Letting out a fearful squawk, the blond shot off in a backward direction and hid around the corner, letting out a relieved sigh. He wouldn't have wanted to be caught by Sasuke, let alone his parents. And judging by his father's expression and cold attitude, he would've put a lawsuit on him for stalking his son. Wonderful.

"Bye, Sasuke, we'll see you on the twenty-seventh!" Mikoto waved her arm to him and smiled sadly, not wanting to leave her son by himself for the holidays. "Tell Sai that I said good-bye as well, when you see him at your job!"

"I will. Bye, Okasan!" Sasuke hollored back and headed into the house, being greeted by a taller black-haired teenager at the doorway.

Naruto remained still, hearing a car approach and stop. There were a few whispers, then the slamming of doors, an engine roaring to life. Feeling it safe to head back, he started walking and began jotting notes down in his notebook.

"...More open with his mother. A mama's boy," he snickered and wrote that down, too. But then he remembered something. "Huh, is to be alone for the holidays because his brother and parents will all be gone..." he scrunched up his nose and stopped writing. "Maybe that's why he's been such a prick today."

There was the sound of a car coming up and he looked to the left, watching the dark yellow cab pass by. Fugaku was on the closest side to Naruto and as he passed by, the blond grinned brightly to him.

The adult Uchiha only scowled.

--------------

The next day was pretty uneventful.

Sasuke was still PMSing, but he wasn't barking snide comments at Naruto like the day before. Nor was he glaring at him every second he could. All he did was sit there, copy notes, do classwork, and frown at the ocassional stupid things coming from Naruto's blabbering mouth. He wasn't in the mood to start anything with the "student teacher" and he knew that if something did get started, then he'd have to end it with a good few punches to the American's jaw.

"S-S-Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke looked up from his homework he'd done last night to see a smaller upperclassmen standing in front of him, holding out a plate with gingerbread cookies on it. The plate was wrapped in plastic, a little orange bow and small card sitting on top. She was looking at her feet nervously, a scarlet blush covering most of her face.

"M-Meri Kurisumasu," she whispered and finally built up the nerve to look him in the eyes. He stared blankly at her, but sat up and accepted the gift nonetheless. He may have been in a bad mood, but he didn't want to take it out on her. He knew she was a nice girl, since he'd known her since his Freshman year.

Taking them from her, he gave her a kind smile that was strained. He didn't take notice of Naruto scribbling things down as he bowed his head to her in respect.

"Thank you, Koujima-san."

The girl smiled happily. "I hope you like them," she chirped and stepped back, giggling while making her way out of the classroom.

"Huh, smooth," Naruto snickered. "Girls really dig you, don't they? I bet you have a locker full of Christmas gifts already."

Turning to the annoying voice, Sasuke glared. "Mind your own business, Uzumaki. No one was talking to you," and he must have said that extremely loud, because everyone in the classroom turned to look at them, some of the male members nudging each other and betting on a fight. Everyone knew there was a thick tension between the two and most of the guys knew a fight would break out sooner or later.

Naruto raised a brow, not bothered in the least. He wasn't an easily angered or frustrated person, so it took a lot to ruffle his feathers. "Hey, I was just trying to start up a conversation, Princess. You know, not everything I say is meant to make you angry."

Sasuke scowled. "Well, how about you just don't talk to me? I'm not in the best of moods."

"Why? Because you've got no one to spend Christmas with? Suck it up, Teme, you're not the only one."

_...Shit! I didn't mean to say that! UGH, you're a fuckin' idiot, Naruto, a fuckin' idiot!_

Sasuke was out of his seat in an instant and he kicked Naruto out of his chair, knocking the blond onto the cold floor. Naruto grimaced, but the pain was only a dull throb. He deserved it, though, with what he'd said. But honestly, Sasuke didn't need to act like such a prick, there were other people out there who were going to be alone for the holidays, too.

_Like me._

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring that up again!" Sasuke practically hissed and went to grab Naruto by the collar of his long-sleeve shirt, but tan hands gripped his wrist and he was surprised to find his back slamming against a desk painfully, Naruto hovering over him. His back was aching in discomfort at the position he was in, but he couldn't do a damn thing because Naruto was holding his arms back, while trapping his legs, too.

"You need to calm down," Naruto murmured as everyone in the class stared at him in awe. It was not every day you saw Uchiha Sasuke get pinned down during a fight. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said, it just slipped out because I'm a little annoyed with your attitude, Princess."

Sasuke glared at him heatedly.

"You act as if you're the only one who has no one to spend Christmas with. Just suck it up and deal with it," Naruto's face was close to Sasuke's and obsisian clashed with cerulean. "A lot of people have it much worse than you."

The raven's teeth clenched and his cheeks heated in anger. "I'm not angry because of that, you fuckin' dobe!" he squirmed under Naruto's hold, using all of his strength to try and get free. "I'm angry because of you!"

The blond didn't know what to say to that. Sure, he teased Sasuke and enjoyed pissing him off, but he didn't think he'd hate him so much...

"Ever since I met you in that cafe, you've done nothing but piss me off!" Sasuke spat. "Everything you do annoys me and I don't understand why everyone here can like you so much when you're nothing but a bothersome, idiotic asshole!"

_You're jealous of him, Sasuke, _his inner self told him. _He's everything you're not and that's eating away at you. It takes you so long to make close friends when he can get close to anyone he wishes, so much easier than you. But what bothers you the most is the fact that he has so many friends he could spend Christmas with and you don't... You only had your family..._

Before Naruto could say anything to him, Kakashi-sensei came in, surprised to see what was going on. He sighed and plopped his Icha Icha Tactics vol. 3 down on his desk, clapping his hands together to get everyone back in their seats.

"Now, what's going on in here? Naruto-kun, you're a guest in my classroom, I expected better from you."

Taking advantage of Naruto's lack of attention, Sasuke shoved him away and grabbed his bag, hurrying out of the classroom before Kakashi-sensei could call for him. A lot of the students began whispering among themselves, all of the females worried over their idol. Kakashi was rubbing at his temples and fixed the desks, telling everyone to sit and get out their notes.

Karin and Suigetsu were both shocked at their friend's actions and they watched as Naruto took a seat, his expression serious and thoughtful. Karin leaned toward him and whispered so that their teacher couldn't hear.

"You're the only person to make Sasuke-kun that mad," she said, a little uneasy.

As if not hearing her, Naruto spoke. "Give me the address to where he works."

"...Eh?"

"Give me the address to where he works," Naruto repeated. "I heard from someone that he has a job, so I want to know where it is."

"Oh... alright. You better apologize to him," she threatened. "Because if he comes into school tomorrow as angry as today, I'll cut off your dick," she growled.

Naruto laughed nervously. "O-Ok. I sort of need that," he unconsciously grabbed himself through his jeans.

_And I do plan on apologizing, as long as that teme apoligizes too. And I want to know what he hates me so damn much... _

----------

Staring up at the sign in front of a cozy-looking home, Naruto almost started laughing.

_Now I know why he smells like chocolate._

He bit the inside of his cheek to hold back his guffaws as he wandered up the sidewalk and passed an exiting pair of girls, red and green boxes in their arms. Opening the door, a little bell jingled as Naruto entered and there was a "welcome to the Hirota Chocolate Shop!" that came from the back room, followed by a loud squeak and the sound of falling boxes.

Taking a look around, Naruto saw that it was indeed a huge chocolate shop. There was fudge, icecream, popcorn, and a huge selection of chocolates along each wall and on the shelves in the center of the spacious place were boxes of chocolates and candies for people in a hurry. Glancing up when he heard footsteps, he spotted a middle schooler (still clad in his uniform) come out of the back room with his arms loaded with boxes of chocolates.

"Anything you'd like, sir?" he asked, the name 'Konohamaru' printed on his name tag. He began putting the boxes on the shelves.

"I came to see Sasuke... Is he in?"

"Sasuke? Yeah, hold on. SASUKE!.!" he hollored so loudly that Naruto cringed and stepped back. Konohamaru noticed this and laughed sheepishly, apologizing quickly.

There was the sound of a door shutting in the back of the shop and soft footsteps, Sasuke emerging from the back with a light pink apron on, blue flower clips in his hair on each side, just above his side bangs. Now, it would be rude to laugh at the high school student, but Naruto was a rude person, so he snickered loudly and abruptly, causing Konohamaru to gape at him.

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Sasuke snarled. "What are you doing here?"

"A-a-ah, sorry," Naruto grinned. "I came by to talk to you for a little bit. You don't mind, do you? Unless you have work to do...?"

"Of course I have work to do, so get the hell out of--" he didn't get to finish before a mirror image of him stepped out of the back room, holding a few flowers he wanted to place in the vase by the front window. His hair was shorter and his face a lot kinder, but he definitely looked like an exact copy of Sasuke.

"Don't be so rude," the clone said cheerfully. "Konohamaru and I can handle the shop by ourselves. Now go talk with your friend," he eyed Naruto up and down, his smile stretching a bit too far for the taller male's liking.

"He's not my friend," Sasuke snorted, but headed back down a narrow hallway. "Come on, idiot, I don't have all day."

Naruto grinned and followed behind him, the both of them entering a living room. He blinked and glanced around, now understanding why the shop looked more like a home. Sitting down on the dark blue sofa, he looked at the framed photos on the coffee table in front of him. One was of the nameless male he'd seen just a few moments ago, another had him with an older man, the third had him with Sasuke, the both of them looking young and happy, and the last one was of Sasuke by himself, not smiling as he stared into the camera.

"Let me guess," Sasuke started while leaning against the wall next to the TV. "Karin told you where I worked?"

Naruto smirked. "Yep."

"Che, figures."

Even though Sasuke had been really angry earlier on in the day, he seemed more calm at that moment. His arms were folded over his chest and the light pink apron made him seem more frail than usual, along with the blue clips. Naruto wanted to ask him about the ridiculous wardrobe, but he decided to leave that question for later on.

"So..." Naruto didn't really know what to say. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. Things just sort of slip out of my mouth, if you haven't noticed..."

"Like when we first met?" Sasuke glared.

Naruto laughed. "Yeah! I'm the type of person who says what's on their mind, you know? So I'm sorry about all the times I've ever offended you."

"Hn, whatever."

"Aww, come on! I'm being sincere here! And you should apologize too! I mean, really," he tapped his fingers against his knee impatiently. "Calling me a bothersome, idiotic asshole? All I've ever done is tease you, nothing else."

_Well, I've also stalked you, but you don't need to know that._

Sasuke sighed. "About that... I suppose, I'm sorry."

Naruto's eye twitched. "You suppose?"

"This is starting to turn out like a scene in one of those horrible animes," Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Where the two people loathe each other, but then come together in some chance meeting and express their feelings, then become friends. You better not expect us to become friends after this, Dobe."

The blond smiled faintly. "Nope, I know better than to expect anything for you."

"Hn," the worker walked over and uncrossed his arms, plopping down on the sofa next to his guest. They sat there for a few moments in silence before Sasuke began explaining things. "Well, when we met, I was already upset that my parents and brother were going to be gone on Christmas day, so I got easily frustrated with you when you--"

"Asked why you smelled like chocolate?" Naruto grinned.

Sasuke glared. "Yes. And then you came to Kakashi-sensei's class and started doing your... project on me. It's easy to press my buttons the wrong way and you seemed to be an expert at that. I knew you were only joking, but you pissed me off. I was somewhat angry about being alone for the holidays, but I was mostly angry because of you," he admitted.

"Why?"

"Because you're everything I wanted to be. You're social, you can make close friends easily, you have a sense of humor, and you draw people in," Sasuke felt like an idiot for saying that, but it was the truth.

"Huh, you can be social too. Just take the stick out of your ass," Naruto teased.

Sasuke growled.

"As for making close friends... No one I've met yet would be considered a close friends, not yet. Kiba's pretty kick ass and Sakura's funny and sweet, but close friends is what I'd consider... you and your group. That Karin chick, Suigetsu, and the quiet guy... Um, Juugo? You know, now that I think about it, I guess we both envy each other," he grinned. "Because I wish I could sort of close myself off like you. Making so many friends tires you out and a lot of them aren't even really your friends in the end, you know? I'd love to just have a small group of really close friends, like you."

It was funny how... Sasuke had hated him and envied him because he thought he was perfect... and really, Naruto had envied him, too. They both saw in each other the traits that they wanted, but couldn't have.

"Also, I like your humor," Naruto smiled. "It's dead-pan humor, the best kind in my opinion. You don't know what I'd give to tell a joke with a straight face!" Naruto laughed. "I always end up cracking up before I'm even half way through with a joke."

Sasuke chuckled, the first one he'd ever let out around Naruto. It definitely was turning out like an anime, but was that really a bad thing?

"And you say that I draw people in? Jeez, what do you call all those girls who swarm around you every day, promising you their virginity? You're Mr. Popular."

"It's not that great. I'd rather have them drawn to my personality than my looks, like you," he smirked.

Naruto's jaw went slack. "Hey, teme, are you calling me ugly?.!"

"No, I was just stating that you have a better personality than me, along with great looks."

"...So you think I'm hot?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he stared at the male, his cheeks becoming a little pink. "I-I never said that," he growled.

Naruto laughed. "I know, I was only joking."

"Hn."

"So, about you being alone on Christmas... Don't you have him?" he pointed out toward the shop. "You seem to know each other and these pictures here have the both of you in them... so I'd conclude you two are friends?"

"He's one of my cousins, but we don't spend much time together anymore. After we broke up, we haven't spoken much except for when I'm working here."

"..."

Sasuke furrowed his brows. "Don't worry, he didn't become my cousin until after we broke up. He's only related to me by marriage."

"Ahh, so you like cock?"

"You're so vulgar," the raven growled. "But to shut you up, yes, I like men. I'm bi. Is there a problem with that?"

"Hmmm, not at all. I happen to swing both ways myself," Naruto wiggled his brows and smirked. "And you're not too shabby-looking, Princess. Maybe if you got rid of the apron and hair clips, I'd offer you a date."

"I'd rather fuck my brother."

"Hey! Now who's the vulgar one?" Naruto broke out into laughter, thoroughly enjoying the company of the Uchiha more than he'd thought he would. Who knew that with a little apology they could end up where they were now. "But if you really don't have anyone to spend Christmas with, you're always welcome at my place. I'm going to be alone, too, so it'd be nice to have you over. Unless you still hate me, of course."

"Hm, you're not as horrible as I thought you were. And now that we're both on the same page, I suppose I could..." Sasuke thought about it. He really didn't understand how the two of them had gotten friendly with each other so quickly, and it seemed so unrealistic. Who went from absolute hatred to "hey, let's spend Christmas together!" that quickly?

"Cool," the college student grinned and stood. "Well, I gotta get going. I do have class in about an hour and I don't want to be late. I'll see you in school tomorrow?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh! And bring those gingerbread cookies if you haven't eaten them already. I won't have any lunch to bring tomorrow and those looked really good," Naruto headed toward the hallway and saluted Sasuke. "Ciao, babe."

Sasuke's brow twitched.

_Babe?_

He was somewhat regretting their meeting now.

------------

Kakashi-sensei looked up from his Icha Icha Tactics book vol. 4 to see Naruto and Sasuke entering the classroom together, the blond rambling on about what to get Gaara for Christmas. The silver-haired teacher's interest peaked and he lowered the reading material, watching them interact with each other. It was definitely an odd sight to see Uchiha Sasuke walking alongside Uzumaki Naruto, mainly because Sasuke hated his guts... But there the raven was, offering a bit of advice here and there to the loud adult.

"Maybe I could give him a shark fetus in a jar..."

Sasuke stared at him. "Why don't you give him concert tickets?"

"Great idea! Dir en Grey's supposed to be having a concert soon... You're a genius, Sasuke, how could I live without you?" the blond crooned.

Sasuke sat down at his seat. "You've done pretty well without me for the past twenty years, so I'm sure you'd be fine."

Also sitting down in his own seat, Naruto snickered. "Ahh, who knew a friendship would blossom from hatred? It's like a romance flick," he pulled out his spiral notebook and began writing some more notes down, Sasuke's eyes flickering over to the messy page.

"Who said we were friends--What the hell are you writing about me now?" he saw his name being jotted down again and frowned.

"That you're a lot cooler when you don't hate me," Naruto told him with a flick of his pen. "Now, where are those gingerbread cookies?" he bounced in his seat, excited.

Sighing and pulling the cookies from his half-empty bag, Sasuke sat them on his desk and tore open the plastic, handing Naruto an iced cookie. Pausing for a moment, he pulled the orange bow off and reached forward, sticking it on the top of Naruto's head, finding that the orange matched his coat.

Blinking, Naruto munched on the cookie. "Do I look pretty?"

Sasuke smirked. "Just like a woman."

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin chirped as soon as she entered, along with Suigetsu and Juugo. Once she reached her desk, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the two sharing cookies with each other and talking. "..."

"What?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"Are you two friends now?" Suigetsu asked, only mildly interested. He hadn't slept too well because of his little brother crying his lungs out all night, so he was just plain irritated.

"Not just friends, actually," Naruto stated matter-of-factly. "We're going on a date next week."

"..." everyone was silent.

"**Excuse me?**" Sasuke gritted out. "When did I ever agree to go on a date with you?"

"Why, when you accepted my offer of spending Christmas together," Naruto smirked, his blue eyes shimmering. "Therefore, we're going on a date," looking at Sasuke's damgerous glare, he chuckled. "Come on, play along. It's for my project. You know, I need to see how you act in various situations?"

"Oh, right... then whatever," Sasuke snorted. "Then I guess we're going on a date."

Naruto grinned childishly, while everyone else just stared. Except for Suigetsu, who was already passed out at his desk.

------------

A week passed by and Naruto and Sasuke spent as much time together as Sasuke did with Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo. On weekdays they hung out during school, and on Sunday, Naruto had dragged him to the arcade down the street from his college to play some DDR. Sasuke had rudely commented that DDR wasn't real dancing, but Naruto'd just told him to shove his snide remarks up his ass or else he'd shove something else up there. That had shut the Uchiha up immediately.

Then there was no school on Monday because the winter break had started and Christmas was just a day away. Meaning that it was Christmas Eve already and Naruto was running around the college campus passing out gifts for his friends to take home with them. He'd barely caught a hold of the dorm RA, Nara Shikamaru, before the usually unresponsive man had left to go see his parents back in Hokkaido. Now he was trying to find the final person on his list, Gaara.

Panting, he leaned against the soda machine and whined loudly. Sasuke was supposed to be coming over soon so they could have what he called a "date", and he'd yet to find Gaara **anywhere**. He knew the insomniac hadn't left yet because his car was in the parking lot, so where the hell was he?

"UGH, Gaara! Where the fuck are you, you fuckin' son of a bitch?.!"

"There's no need to use such foul language," Gaara came down the stairs while putting his blood red scarf around his neck. It must've been a gift from his boyfriend, Lee, because it had a little pink heart stitched in near the bottom. Just seeing that little symbol made Naruto's mood brighten considerably. He loved the relationship the two had together, even though he'd just met Lee a few days ago at the museum a few blocks away.

"Well, I looked everywhere for you," Naruto huffed and held out a small, wrapped box. "Here, it's your present from me. Give one to Lee, too, ok?"

Gaara stared at him and took it, then looked down at the box, his face impassive. "Yes, thank you."

"So... where's my present?" Naruto stuck out his hands.

Gaara continued to stare. "I borrowed a room key from Jiraiya-sama and placed your present under the tree in your room."

"So that's what you were doing this whole time?" Naruto grinned. "It better be a good gift, let me tell you that."

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Now, Temari and Kankuro are waiting for me in the parking lot," the red-head bowed his head. "I'll see you after the break."

"Yeah, see ya. Give my holiday greetings to Lee!" he waved and headed up the stairs to his room, thankful that he still had a few minutes before Sasuke would arrive. He stretched as he walked down the hallway to his room, in a pretty damn good mood. He had a good bit of friends now, he wasn't alone for Christmas, and best of all... Uchiha Sasuke didn't hate him anymore! He laughed at the last part and scratched the back of his head as he turned the corner, only to stop abruptly when he saw said raven-haired high school student leaning against his door.

Sasuke turned to him, holding a wrapped present against his chest. He had on tight black jeans and a tan-coloured sweater that hung low on his right shoulder, exposing his creamy skin. His face didn't hold any anger or irritation at all, just curiosity.

"Did you get lost?"

"Oh, fuck you," Naruto joked and pulled out his room key, opening the door and turning on the light. "And you don't have to take your shoes off, I don't do the whole Japanese tradition thing. Also, watch out for Jinx, he likes to chew on hair."

"...Jinx?" Sasuke stepped in, his eyes roaming over the room. It was pretty big for a college dorm room and then something finally hit him. He was a 16-year-old in a 20-year-old's home... and they were on a date. Well, not a real date anyway. But it still made Sasuke become a bit nervous.

"He's my cat. He's probably in my bedroom sleeping, so I don't think you'll have to worry about getting attacked by him until later," Naruto glanced at his Christmas tree and was amazed to find quite a bit of presents under there. Everyone must have snuck presents in...

_Still, a murderer could've asked Shikamaru for my room key and that bum would've given it to them, _he grumbled mentally.

Sasuke sat his present under the tree and took a good look around at all of the band posters, the flat screen TV, the computer in the corner, the fish tank, the trash can full of empty instant ramen cups, the leather sofa, and the glass coffee table covered in college books and papers with math problems on them, as well as a laptop and scattered photos of a blond-haired girl and a blond-haired man that looked almost exactly like Naruto.

"Is this girl your girlfriend?" he asked, not knowing why it sort of bothered him.

"Huh?" Nauto pulled two sodas from the fridge and tossed one to Sasuke, coming back into the room to sit down on the couch. "Naw, that's my sister, Ino. The other guy's my dad, Minato, and this..." he shuffled through the pictures to show the raven another blond-haired woman with hazel eyes and bright red lips. "This is my Baa-chan."

"Your Grandmother? She looks so young."

"Yeah, I think she gets plastic surgery," Naruto shrugged and leaned back, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. "Take a seat, Teme, let's watch some good ol' American football. My dad mailed me a tape of the last games in the Superbowl, so I want to see who wins."

Sasuke raised a brow. "Who watches football on a date?"

"Huh, true... so how about we just get to the hot sex and you crying about how what you thought we had was real?"

The raven growled and punched him in the shoulder, causing Naruto to groan in pain, but laugh hysterically at the same time. They'd spent so much time together during the last week that he felt like they could've been best friends. Their personalities complemented each others' so well.

"I was joking, jeez."

And they both joked around, watched TV, and talked until evening. It seemed to get dark out too soon and Naruto whistled in amazement, hopping off the couch so he could turn on the lights that were wrapped around his Christmas tree. They were a multitude of colors and shined brightly in the darkness of the room.

"How about we open presents now and then get drunk?"

"I'm underaged, Dobe," Sasuke remarked.

"So? A little drinking never hurt anyone! Live a little! Let your hair down!"

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes and he almost squawked when a present was thrown his way. Looking down at the bright orange wrapping paper, he let his lips twitch upward in a smile. Well, who knew the idiot would've gotten him a gift. Wanting to thank his friend, he looked up, only to see Naruto scribbling down a few things into his notebook, once again.

"Could you not write in that thing every ten minutes?" he grumbled.

"Hey, this is an assignment that lasts until midnight tonight," Naruto tapped his pen against his chin. "So shut it."

"Hn. So what are you writing about me now?"

"That you're happy when you receive gifts," Naruto stated and closed his notebook. "Now, open it, open it!"

Sasuke did as he was told and ripped open the paper to reveal a plain white box. Pulling off the lid, he looked inside to see a framed photo. He reached in and took it out, finding himself smiling as he saw the picture he and Naruto had taken inside of a photo booth when they'd gone to the arcade. The college student was making a goofy face while his cheek was pressed against Sasuke's, the raven's own expression humorous since his mouth was half way open and a blush lit up his cheeks.

_Every picture I see of us, I seem to be blushing... _

"Isn't it cute?" Naruto grinned widely.

"Thank you," Sasuke was sincere. "I've never gotten a gift like this before. I've gotten clothes, dvds, CDs, but never something like this..." his smile was soft. "Right now, I don't regret being your friend."

"Oi! You regretted it before?.!"

"How about you shut your mouth and open the present I got you?" Sasuke smirked.

"Teme," Naruto grumbled and enthusiastically ripped all of the paper from the gift Sasuke had brought for him, lifting the top off to pull out a bright orange cat-eared hat. "...Waaaiiii! This is fuckin' awesome!" he put it on his head and his blond spikes stuck out underneath. His smile was huge as he shoved himself forward to hug Sasuke. "You're the best!"

Sasuke found himself blushing again and he cleared his throat, wondering why he was acting so weird. Actually, he knew why... he just didn't want to admit to the fact that maybe he had a small crush on the loud-mouth imbecile. He wasn't embarrassed to like him, he just thought it was weird to like someone who was almost five years older than him.

"You're welcome... And there's something else in there, too."

Naruto pulled back and looked into the box again, reaching in to grab a small bag of chocolates shaped like stars. He grinned. "Get these from your cousin's shop?"

"Actually, I made them myself when I was on break..."

The blond stared at him. "You're the best, you know that, right?" he opened the bag and popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth, practically moaning as the star melted on his tongue slowly. "Damn, these are good. Now I feel bad because I didn't get you anything spectacular."

Sasuke chuckled. "What you got me was fine. I liked it."

"Mmmm," Naruto continued to eat the chocolates. "Oh shit, I forgot about Christmas dinner!... Say, Sasuke, do you like Ethiopian food?"

"..."

------------

It was close to midnight when Naruto and Sasuke were done with their dinner and desserts, the both of them ready to go to bed. Naruto had left everyone else's presents under the tree so that he'd have some things to open in the morning before Sasuke would leave. The Uchiha had gotten a phone call around nine from his mother, who said that she and Fugaku would be home the next morning around eight because they'd finished with their work early and were on a plane at that very moment.

"I guess I'll be alone on Christmas after all," Naruto huffed and kicked off his sneakers so he could get ready for bed. He was happy that Sasuke would get to spend time with his parents on Christmas, though, so he wasn't too upset. He was happy that Sasuke was happy.

"I could stay if you want. I'm sure my parents would understand."

"Nah, go back home tomorrow. Family's more important, anyway. I'll be fine," Naruto waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "I'll see you all the time after tomorrow anyway. It's just one day. I'm not gonna die without you."

Sasuke snorted and got up, stretching and yawning at the same time. "If you say so. So where are the blankets? I need something to cover up with on the sofa."

"You're gettin' the bed," Naruto grinned. "I'll take the couch. Now, get your ass to bed," he kneed Sasuke in the backside and the raven smacked him in the back of the head while going toward his friend's bedroom. Once he got to the doorway, he turned and watched Naruto dig into the pantry closet right beside him. Pulling out a thick blanket, Naruto saluted. "G'night, Teme, sweet drea-- Oooo, well, look at that!" he suddenly grinned deviously and he pointed up.

Glancing upward, Sasuke saw a mistletoe hanging from the door frame. "..."

"You know what that means, riiiight?" Naruto's grin widened. "It means we gotta smooch."

Sasuke looked thoughtful.

"When did my life turn into a yaoi fanfiction?" he grumbled out right before he was pressed against the door frame and Naruto's warm breath rushed over his face. Then before he could even inhale, lips were pressed against his and whatever breath he had in his lungs was stolen away. Indeed, his life was turning into a yaoi fanfiction, written by one of those obsessive fangirls that like to make pairings out of two men who're only friends.

The kiss was soft and warm, though, relaxing Sasuke's muscles in the most pleasurable of ways. Then a tongue slipped between his lips and touched his, causing him to groan into the kiss and press closer to Naruto. He would've never thought that he'd end up kissing the same guy who'd said he'd smelled like chocolate while standing next to him, taking a piss.

But life was funny like that.

"Mmm, you taste like chocolate," Sasuke whispered.

"And you smell like chocolate," Naruto grinned.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his ankle and he pulled away from the kiss with a grimace on his face. Looking down, he saw an orange cat with its claws deep in the skin above his ankle. It was staring up at him with big green eyes, a soft mewl escaping its furry lips.

"Dammit, Jinx, you ruined the moment," Naruto whined and rubbed at the back of neck. "Sorry about that, Sasuke."

"Do you think you could... remove his claws from my flesh?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Naruto laughed sheepishly while Sasuke glared down at the stupid feline. "Wow, what a mood-killer, huh? I guess I'll just have to kiss you again."

Sasuke snorted. "Hn, your cat pissed me off. I don't think I'll want to kiss you again unless you get rid of him first."

"... You're kidding, right?"

"I'm dead serious."

"... SASUKE!" Naruto whined.

-----------

A week later, after the Christmas break, Naruto had handed in his report to Iruka with a huge smile on his, promising his sensei it was A plus material. Well, what he thought was an A was completely different from what Iruka thought was an A. So while flipping through the few pages of typed up information on Sasuke, everything started to look fairly good and the tanned male was about to put an A in as Naruto's grade, but stopped himself when he got to the last page, reading it aloud to himself.

"... underneath the mistletoe..." his brows twitched.

"Sasuke's especially shy in bed..."

"... gets tired after three times..."

"...he made sweet love to who?.!"

**OWARI**

**(1)- I didn't bother to look up what Tokyo University actually looked like, so I made up my own description XD**


End file.
